gita, chapter three: for the world

Exploring Chapter 3 of the Gita

In these posts, I share some thoughts on parts of the above Gita chapter that I find inspiring in my everyday life. I hope that in them you, too, will find a treasure that can help lift you up above the day to day and see a bigger picture– and see your spirit’s place in it.

Chapter 3, Verse 25

As the ignorant act,

attached to action,

O Bharata,

So the wise should act

without attachment,

desiring to act for

the welfare of the world.

Wow. “Desiring to act for the welfare of the world.” Even saying that feels heavy and important.

What would that even look like? To act for the welfare of someone else, not for my own self and my own gains? Not just in one or two acts but in every action?

Our days are so full of going here and there, doing this and that, all with the purpose of fulfilling our own needs. What if, this week, you make one of those things, once a day, an act purely for someone else, if not the whole world?

What would that look like?

Well, what if, for example, instead of throwing that glass bottle in the trash you make a point to place it in a recycling bin?

What if instead of buying the laundry soap you love so much because it smells so strongly, you choose the one that biodegrades?

What if instead of jumping to be first in line, you make space for someone else to go in front of you?

What if the goal wasn’t to be first or to have the most, what if, just once a day (to start ;)), the goal was to bring more joy and more kindness into the world?